CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS CONNECTICUT DEAF SENIOR CITIZENS ARTICLE I: Name Section 1. The name of this non-profit organization shall be the Connecticut Deaf Senior Citizens, Incorporated, hereinafter referred to as (CDSC). ARTICLE II: Purpose Section 1. The purpose of this organization shall be to provide social, educational, and recreational opportunities for deaf seniors. ARTICLE III: Membership Section 1. Active membership shall be open at any time to any deaf person 50 years or older. Section 2. Associate membership shall be open to any hearing person 50 years or older who has a special interest and will support this organization. Section 3. Associate members shall have all privileges of active membership except holding office at any time. Section 4. Associate membership shall be open to any deaf person under 50 years old who has severe disability and/or health issues. ARTICLE IV: Dues Section 1. Amount of annual dues per person for residents and non-residents of Newington shall be determined by the membership at its general meeting. Section 2. Amount of annual dues per person for residents and non-residents of Newington shall be determined by Newington Senior and Disabled Center. The annual dues for the year shall be paid directly to NSDC. Section 3. Annual membership dues shall be payable to the Treasurer by January 31 st. Section 4. New members joining during the year will pay pro-rated dues according the number of months remaining. Section 5. A non-member who brings a member who can t drive shall not pay at any events except events that provide meals. Section 6. Non-members 50 years or older are permitted visits per year without paying dues. Section 7. Number of visits during a year for non-members 50 years or older shall be determined by the CDSC membership. ARTICLE V: Meetings and Quorum Section 1. Business meeting shall be held on the second Tuesday of January, March, May, September, and November at 1 p.m. Page: 1
Section 2. Seventeen (17) active members including three (3) officers present shall constitute a quorum for conducting business at a regular or special meeting. Section 3. Special meeting may be called by the President with agreement of the Board or when requested by active members at least one week before the business meeting. Section 4. Business conducted during special meeting shall be focused to the purpose of the special meeting. Section 5. Board meeting must have a majority of the Board Members present. ARTICLE VI: Officers and Trustees Section 1. Five (5) officers of the organization shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Membership Coordinator elected in November to serve for a two-year term. Any officer can serve in the same office as long as he/she wants. Section 2. Three Trustees shall serve for specified terms of office. At November election, the expiring two-year term of the first Trustee shall be filled in by a vote for a new Trustee for a six-year term. a. Third trustee shall service for a two-year term. b. Second trustee shall serve for a four-year term. c. First trustee shall be elected for a six-year term. Section 3. To be eligible to serve as an officer, a person must be an active member in good standing for at least one year. Section 4. The officers shall be collectively known as the Board of Directors. Section 5. The Board of Directors shall have authority to make decisions between meetings in accordance with the goals of this organization as needed. Section 6. Vacancies in office shall be filled by election at any business meetings. ARTICLE VII: Election of Officers and Trustees Section 1. All officers and a trustee shall be elected by ballot at the bi-annual November meeting after the New Business. Section 2. The President shall choose a Nominating chair. a. Names will be announced. Section 3. Candidates must be present at the time of election. However, if candidate cannot be present for a valid reason, he or she shall write a letter of his/her acceptance to the Nominating Chairperson beforehand. Section 4. At the January meeting before the New Business all newly elected officers shall be sworn in before taking up their duties. Section 5. The president shall choose an active member to perform the oath to all newly elected officers and trustee. Page: 2
I pledge to perform faithfully the duties of my office to the best of my ability and obey the laws and rules of the Connecticut Deaf Senior Citizens. Section 6. No candidate will be elected for more than one position. ARTICLE VIII: Duties of Officers and Trustees Section 1. The President shall: a. Be the chief executive for CDSC. b. Preside at all meetings. c. With the approval of the CDSC Board, shall appoint the chair of each standing committee. d. Have a basic knowledge of parliamentary procedures. e. Be an ex-officio member of all committees. Section 2. The Vice-President shall: a. Serve at any time the President is unable to serve, or when the office of the President becomes vacant. b. Have a basic knowledge of parliamentary procedures. c. Serve as Chairperson of the Law Committee. Section 3. The Secretary shall: a. Record in the minutes of all CDSC meetings of the Board and business meetings. b. Keep the minutes. c. Prepare or assist the president in preparing the agenda for meetings. d. Post and/or distribute minutes of all meetings before each business meetings. Section 4. The Treasurer shall: a. Be responsible for all funds of the CDSC. b. Distribute the audited financial reports to members at the business meetings. c. Collect annual membership dues d. Collect membership dues from new members. Section 5. The Membership Coordinator shall: a. Record and collect fees from non- members. b. Keep an accurate list of members in good standing. c. Introduce a new member at the business meeting. d. Send a sympathy card to the deceased member s family. e. Send a get well card to the member who is hospitalized for more than three (3) days. Section 6. The Trustees shall: Audit the Treasurer s financial reports indicating membership dues and all events monthly. ARTICLE IX: Parliamentary Authority and Procedures Section 1. Robert s Rules of Order shall be the recognized authority on all points of parliamentary procedure unless it conflicts with established rules of the Connecticut Deaf Senior Citizens, in which the latter will govern the situation. Section 2. After the Secretary makes a roll call at the business meeting, the President will choose an active member to sign the Pledge of Allegiance as follows: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Page: 3
United States of America and the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ARTICLE X: Amendments Section 1. Any amendments to this Constitution & Bylaws may be made only by written motions to be approved after discussion at a general or board meeting. Section 2. These proposed amendments may be amended at the next meeting by two-thirds (2/3) members present and voting at the next general meeting. Article XI: Compensation: Members of the Board shall serve without compensation except for standard expense reimbursement for costs related to their duties. ARTICLE XII: Dissolution Section 1. This organization may be dissolved by two-thirds (2/3) vote of active members present at a special meeting called for that purpose. Section 2. Upon of the dissolution of this organization, and after payment of all existing debts and liabilities, all remaining assets shall be given to the Connecticut Retirement Colony (CRC) and all archives to the American School for the Deaf (ASD) Cogswell Heritage House. Standing Committees Committees and Representatives The Chairpersons of the Standing Committees and appropriate Representatives shall be appointed by the President. Coffee Bingo Nominating Picnic Christmas Dinner Social Events Representatives Editor Community Consultant Coffee Chairperson shall: 1. Be responsible to set up all drinks such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cream, dessert, and disposable cups and dinnerware. 2. Be responsible to clean up and put tables and chairs in order at the end of the day. 3. Post an account of all income and expenditures of the fund. 4. Prepare monthly reports. Bingo Chairperson shall: 1. Be responsible to collect the monies for Bingo sheets. Page: 4
2. Appoint other members to sell bonanza bingo cards (special folded and sealed bingo cards) for 2 dollars per card. Half of the proceeds will go to CRC (Connecticut Retirement Colony) and the other half to the winner. 3. Appoint other members to collect for raffles. 4. Be responsible to set up the Bingo game board. 5. Prepare monthly reports. 6. Post an account of all income and expenditures of the fund. 7. Operate Bingo by directly using a mechanical ball blower that mixes ping pong balls with blown air (or a spin cage) or appoint other members to operate the equipment. Nominating Chairperson shall: 1. Be responsible to find interested candidates in active standing for officer and trustee positions. 2. Ensure that nominees understand their full duties before they run for office. The Picnic Chairperson shall: 1. Make reservations for a site and date. 2. Appoint members to assist. 3. Prepare a flyer. 4. Collect all receipts and fill out a report of income and expenditures for the Treasurer. The Christmas Chairperson shall: 1. Be responsible to make a reservation for a site and date. 2. Have a deposit check from the Treasurer for the restaurant reservation. The chairperson will pay back the deposit money after all expenses are paid for the dinner. 3. Prepare a flyer. 4. Appoint members to assist. 5. Collect all receipts and fill out a report for the Treasurer. The Social Chairperson shall: 1. Prepare flyers. 2. Appoint members to assist. 3. Collect all receipts and fill out a report for the Treasurer 4. Buy a birthday cake for members to celebrate their birthdays. Cakes will be served to all who are present during Bingo on the last Tuesday of every third month. (Jan, Feb, Mar), (Apr, May, June), (Jul, Aug, Sept), and (Oct, Nov, Dec). 5. Buy pizza in January to serve members during Bingo. 6. Buy and serve small birthday cakes for members who become 90, 95 or 100 years old and for 50, 55, 60, and 65 th wedding anniversaries during Bingo. Also, provide a large sheet cake to be sold for $1.00 a piece on any month other than quarterly month. Representatives: 1. The President will choose one or more representatives to represent CDSC in each of the following organizations: Connecticut Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf (CCOSD) CT Sprint Relay Advisory Board New England Deaf Senior Citizens, Inc. (NEDSC) Connecticut Retirement Colony (CRC) 2. Attend all meetings and make reports to our organization regularly. 3. Report to the Board and members when and where the next meeting will be held. 4. The President will choose an alternate to attend the meeting if the representative cannot attend. Page: 5
The Editor shall: 1. Collect information and news. 2. Collect and/or take pictures of activities, events, etc. 3. Prepare and proofread written stories/articles. 4. Ask member(s) to assist with handling and mailing CDSC newsletters. 5. Charge a vendor for placing an advertisement in the newsletter for a full page for $75.00. 6. Will be reimbursed for printing expenses relating to newsletters. The Community Consultant shall: 1. Maintain close communication with the agencies and groups for educational and informational purposes. 2. Record the minutes of the meeting, if the secretary is absent. 3. Contact the website designer for updating the website. Duties of Secretary and Treasurer Standing Rules The Secretary shall: 1. Send or email the minutes to the President within two weeks after the meeting. The Treasurer shall: 1. Keep account of all income and expenditures of funds monthly and keep them for at least 11 years. 2. Pay bills over $300 with the President s approval. 3. Withdraw any monies from the bank with the President s approval. 4. Shall pay annual dues to the Connecticut Council of Organization Serving the Deaf (CCOSD) of which we are a member. 5. Send $25 to deceased member s family s chosen charity. 6. File a 501(7) report to IRS annually. Compensation 1. The Secretary will be compensated $10.00 for his/her services per regular meeting. 2. The Treasurer will be compensated $10.00 for his/her monthly services. 3. The Coffee Chairperson will be compensated $10.00 for his/her monthly services. Trustees 2 out of 3 trustees may be considered for auditing. Dues 1. Annual dues of $8.00 per person for active members shall be paid to the Treasurer. The dues are effective from January 1st to December 31 st. 2. Annual dues of $10.00 per person for non-residents and $5.00 per person for Newington residents shall be paid to the Newington Senior and Disabled Center. The dues are effective from July 1st to June 31 st. 3. Annual dues of $8.00 for associate members who live out of state shall be effective from January 1 st to December 31 st. 4. Membership renewal fees shall be payable by January 30 th. After that date a penalty fee shall be $2.00 dollars per visit on any meetings and social events. Page: 6
5. Non-members are requested to pay for all socials events which provide food. 6. Non-members 50 or older are permitted three (3) visits per year without paying dues. Board of Directors meeting Meetings are open to any members who are interested in attending; however, they cannot vote. Order of Business 1. Call the Meeting to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Pledge of Allegiance 4. Silence to pray for death of a member(s) 5. Introduction of new members by Membership Coordinator 6. Reading of Minutes from previous meeting 7. Reading of Minutes of special meeting 8. Treasurer s Report 9. Correspondence 10. Reports of Officers 11. Reports of Committees 12. Reports of Representatives 13. Unfinished Business 14. New Business 15. Elections 16. Announcements 17. Adjournment Activities, Donations, and Mail 1. Informal activities shall be assembled from 9:00 am to 4:15 pm. 2. Coffee breaks shall start at 2:00 pm for 30 minutes. 3. Bingo shall start at 10:30 am and 1:00 pm on the last Tuesday of every month. 4. The prize of $250.00 will be awarded to a member for winning a Bingo card that has all squares stamped with less than 55 balls. If he/she hits the jackpot, a non-member will be awarded an amount that has been determined beforehand. 5. Annual scholarship awards of $150 each shall be presented to a deserving boy and girl graduating from the American School for the Deaf. 6. The President or the Treasurer will rent a post office box annually. Either one of them will pick up the mail weekly. 7. A 50 th wedding anniversary cake will be served to the couple who are members in good standing for at least five (5) years only. Page: 7